HAMDEN — An animal shelter in town has long been a priority on the back burner.

Hamden has never operated its own facility. For more than a decade, the town has run its animal control unit out of North Haven’s facility. But Mayor Curt B. Leng recently got notice that Hamden will need to move out by May 1.

Hamden has talked for years about getting its own animal shelter and in recent years, building a regional one to be shared by a neighboring town. But one has never come to fruition because of cost, space and timing.

“It’s absolutely a need, but there are many needs and our job is to prioritize,” Leng said. “Now that this happened, I’ll ask myself, does this make us have to think about this and nudge it higher on the priority list? Absolutely.”

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North Haven First Selectman Michael J. Freda said he met with Leng and conveyed that North Haven has to “move forward and separate the relationship.”

“Animal control and the police department recommended we keep the space for ourselves,” Freda said.

He sent a letter to Leng Feb. 28 saying Hamden will need to move its animals to another facility, giving until May 1 to find a solution.

Acting Hamden Police Chief John Cappiello said the town needs to find short-term solutions and long-term ones at the same time.

“One option is maybe working with North Haven to say that we’re moving forward with a plan so we can buy some time and if that doesn’t work, we’re working with other partners for a short term,” he said.

Cappiello said the town had been looking at private partnerships even before it received the notice, but that agreement wouldn’t be fully realized by May. If Hamden could show North Haven or another municipality it is actively working toward another solution, a short-term partner might be willing to accommodate the town now, he said.

“We’ve needed to partner with somebody for a long time,” Cappiello said. “Right now, all options are on the table, but none of those will be a quick fix, so we’re concentrating on the short term. What we have now, I can’t say but to be honest, we’re scrambling a little bit.”

The towns entered into a six-month agreement April 12, 2005, that allowed Hamden to use the facility without liability to North Haven. But when the contract expired, North Haven was exposed to liability, North Haven Police Chief Thomas McLoughlin said.

“It was only supposed to be for six months and without an agreement, the town of North Haven is exposed to more civil liability than we should have been,” McLoughlin said. “For the last 12 and a half years, we’ve had a lot of unnecessary exposure and this buttons it up.”

In a response to Freda’s letter, Leng wrote him expressing gratitude for “the generous courtesies extended to Hamden” but asked for more time beyond May to “responsibly locate and engage the use of a different facility.”

In the response, Leng noted the dogs Kato and Kleo, who had been held at the shelter for more that six years, were recently moved to a sanctuary in Florida and won’t ever need to stay in North Haven again. Leng said it was “a unique situation that lasted a long time” and imagines it had something to do with North Haven deciding to take back use of the entire shelter.

“I wonder if the change in the situation and getting the dogs to a sanctuary and removed from North Haven facility would change their outlook on things,” Leng said.

The letter asked Freda if the towns could come to a “mutually beneficial” formal agreement that would allow Hamden continued use in the short term.

“I believe we owe it to the taxpayers of both our communities to have one last conversation about mutually beneficial ways that we could move forward working together,” Leng wrote.

Freda acknowledged he received the letter but didn’t comment further on it.

McLoughlin said it’s time for the towns to part ways on this collaboration.

“Just like any relationship, sometimes people grow apart,” he said. “This is one of those where we’ve grown apart. It’s unfortunate that Hamden has sat on their hands for 13 years and done nothing with this. It really belongs in their court and it’s not for the town of North Haven to provide for them.”

“We knew that $400,000 wasn’t going to build it, but we wanted to put something down to show we were serious about it and then seek additional funds,” Leng said. Since then, the only money that’s gone toward a shelter has come from donations and local fundraising from organizations including Gimme Shelter. But Leng said he can’t prioritize an animal shelter above the fire stations and Keefe Community Center that are in “desperate need of repair.”

McLoughlin said the shelter has been a political football as the state has tried to regionalize a number of things, namely schools and 911 emergency dispatch centers. The shelter was another regional plan that “just didn’t work out.”

About a year ago, Leng and former police Chief Thomas Wydra were talking with Woodbridge officials about collaborating with them on a Hamden constructed shelter when the regional option with North Haven didn’t work out.

“Over the past year or so, we have had several meetings with Hamden officials such as the Police Chief and the Mayor and others,” Woodbridge First Selectwoman Beth Huller said in an email. “We looked at possible ways for Hamden to join Woodbridge’s facility. At this point in time, we are waiting for Hamden to get back to us regarding next steps.”

Leng said after meeting with Woodbridge officials, his team was expecting an outline of the proposed terms Woodbridge was presenting but the Hamden town attorney hasn’t receive those to date.

“But I’m excited that this opportunity is still an option and we will certainly continue the discussion,” Leng said.

Leng said the best case-scenario for Hamden would be having more time to use the North Haven facility while Hamden continues to work on a long-term solution. He said the police department has been actively reaching out to other municipal shelters and private options, including partnering with Merryfield Veterinary Hospital, but the management and the town are still discussing feasibility.

Hamden partnered with Merryfield long ago when the facility was under different management and even though municipal animal control is more regulated than private kennels, that hasn’t been a barrier to the discussions, Cappiello said.

“The people we’re talking to right now are anxious to partner with us, but we need time,” he said. “I want to walk into a place that’s workable.” Cappiello said Hamden Animal Control doesn’t put down domestic animals unless the animals are vicious or seriously sick, but wouldn’t put an animal down due to lack of space.

The town is allowed seven cages at the North Haven facility and when Hamden exceeds that amount, roaming, unclaimed canines are brought to various shelters, including West Haven, Cheshire, Woodbridge and Wallingford, Cappiello said.

The number of animal-related incidents varies by season, but animal control averages about 1,100 a year, Cappiello said.

“The reality is that everyone has realized the need for it and there’s been some funding put aside but it comes down to a priority,” he said. “Where I think it’s a priority, there’s only so much funding that can go around. It’s a balancing act and it comes down to the finances. If we had $1 million sitting around, I’m sure it would be built tomorrow.”

Leng said there’s no chance that Hamden would forgo animal control services.